National champion archer S. Suresh is set to face Eric Bennett from the United States in the elimination round of the men’s 1/16 open recurve at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games. Suresh, who defeated Bennett in the 2019 World Championship to become the world champion, will look to repeat that success.

In the ranking round held at the Invalides, Suresh finished 12th with 625 points, setting a new personal best. This score surpasses his previous record of 596 points from the Para Archery World Ranking Event in the Czech Republic last June.

Bennett, who ended the competition in 21st place with 602 points, and Guillaume Toucoullet from France, who topped the ranking round with 652 points, are among the notable competitors.

National archery coach Marzuki Zakaria expressed satisfaction with Suresh’s performance and hopes he can carry this momentum into the next round, scheduled for September 4. “I hope Suresh can replicate his 2019 Para World Archery Championship success against Eric Bennett,” Marzuki told Bernama.

Additionally, Marzuki was pleased with the debut performance of another national archer, Nur Jannaton Abdul Jalil, in the open women’s individual compound event. Nur Jannaton scored 649 points, placing 24th and surpassing her previous season best of 615 points from the Fazza World Archery Ranking Championship in Dubai last March.

The 28-year-old dwarf archer will compete against Sarita from India, who finished 9th with 682 points, in the elimination round of 1/16 tomorrow.